The instant invention relates to document sheets containing a water-activated adhesive that are folded and sealed in a manner that they become converted into sealed document/envelopes which can be mailed by themselves without being inserted into another envelope and which when opened constitute a self-contained document. More particularly, the instant invention relates to apparatus for folding and sealing such document sheets.
Millions of business correspondence forms are utilized in commerce and the like, such as billing invoices, delivery notification, and the like. At the present time, multi-sheet business forms, some utilizing carbon paper or other means of duplication, are sold by manufacturers and delivered to the users. The forms are removed from their shipping container and inserted in a typewriter or printer which may be operated by a computer. The billing information or the like may be fed into a computer system which operates the typewriter or printer, to place the desired billing information on the forms. Each form may differ in its information, in that the typewriter or printer will insert a different customer with a different address, and a different billing amount (or other information) for each form.
In the above prior art systems, it is necessary for the forms to carry severable, lateral side strips having holes into which the pins of a form feeding sprocket fit, so that there is precise control of the position of the data entered onto the various layers of the business form, which is typically pre-printed. The pre-printed portions must of course be in precise registration with the material which is added by the computerized typewriter or printer.
After the desired information has been entered by the computerized typewriter or printer, the forms are manually severed from each other, and the side strips with holes are removed. The forms may then be placed in an envelope.
The amount of paper in the side strips generally constitutes approximately 10 percent of the entire paper used in the forms, and thus constitutes a significant waste of paper, since the side strips are discarded. Furthermore, a considerable amount of manual labor is necessary to remove the forms from the typewriter or printer, to separate the forms and insert them into envelopes. Additionally, a significant amount of waste and delay is encountered by the simple step of shipping the blank business forms to the processor, involving the added expense of packaging materials and shipping expenses.
In response to the foregoing problems, a process has been developed for the production of message-containing envelopes in which the message may differ. Because the lateral, removable, perforated portions for alignment are unnecessary, there is a substantial savings in paper. The end product of this process constitutes a sealed, addressed envelope, ready for mailing. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,989 issued to the assignee of the instant invention on Jan. 24, 1989, apparatus is disclosed for folding and sealing seriatim a supply of documents into envelopes, each of the documents containing water-activated adhesive on at least one portion thereof. The apparatus comprises a hopper for storing a supply of the documents, means for applying moisture to a portion of the documents, and a pair of folding rollers for imparting a fold to the documents. The apparatus further includes a buckle chute for stopping the forward progress of the documents and causing the documents to enter the nip of the folding rollers, and means mounted on the buckle chute for applying moisture to an interior portion of the documents. In copending application Ser. No. 115,220 filed Oct. 30, 1987 by the assignee of the instant invention entitled "Apparatus for Folding and Sealing Documents", there is additionally disclosed for use with the foregoing apparatus a pair of ironing rollers located downstream of the folding rollers for maximizing adhesive contact of the documents and forming the envelope, and conveying/curing means located downstream of the ironing rollers for holding the envelopes together during transport prior to their release for further processing.
When the formed envelope emerges from the ironing rollers, in many cases it will be rumpled rather than perfectly flat, which creates problems for the further processing required for the envelope. A common requirement for further processing is that the envelopes be aligned parallel to each other, and rumpled envelopes derogate from the ability to align the envelopes. Several approaches were attempted in order to achieve the proper alignment of the moistened envelopes and none proved successful. Some approaches would work with one size of envelope but not another. The instant invention proved to be the only apparatus that would reliably align all sizes of moistened envelopes emerging from the ironing rollers.